


Counting the Hours

by Joe_Reaves



Series: The Wedding [1]
Category: Empire Records (1995)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-11
Updated: 2010-04-11
Packaged: 2017-10-08 21:05:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/79506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joe_Reaves/pseuds/Joe_Reaves
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joe contemplates his upcoming wedding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Counting the Hours

**Author's Note:**

> I've messed with the timeline a bit. Joe is ten years older than Lucas, not fifteen. Warren was 12 when he pulled the stunt in the movie and Joe adopted him soon after.

Joe was pacing his hotel room nervously. In, he checked his watch, two hours and twenty-seven minutes he was getting married. Again. He ran his hands through his hair. Getting married had worked out so well for him the first time after all – why was he putting himself through this again? He opened the mini bar and stared at the contents thoughtfully.

"Step away from the bar," Warren ordered. "If I let you drink before the wedding and you show up drunk, Lucas will kill me and then Gina will stomp on what's left because I let you upset Lucas."

Joe slammed the door, sounding more like a sulky teenager than Warren ever managed. "I was just looking!" He sighed; now he was whining too. This was stupid. "Am I doing the right thing?" he asked.

Warren raised an eyebrow. "You're asking me for advice? Can I have that in writing? Just sit down and stop worrying, dad. You and Lucas are great together."

Joe ran his hands through his hair again. Two hours, nineteen minutes left. "What if something goes wrong? Last time I got married it was a total disaster; although, come to think of it, I was drunk when we got married that time or at least very hung over. I can't remember most of the ceremony so it's hard to be sure."

Warren rolled his eyes. "Nothing is going to go wrong. Gina won't let it; she's organised this wedding to within an inch of its life. The only thing that might go wrong is one of the grooms, that would be you by the way, is having a panic attack."

"I'm not panicking," Joe insisted, although to be honest he wasn't entirely sure he wasn't panicking. "Why did I think proposing was a good idea? We were fine just as we were." He couldn't help smiling as he remembered the proposal though.

He'd arranged a picnic up on the roof with Lucas after the store closed. Warren was staying with a friend for the night so there was no need for them to rush home. They had stretched out on a blanket with only the glow from the sign and the moon to light the rooftop and a basket full of Lucas' favourite picnic foods between them. After a leisurely meal where Joe had fed Lucas by hand and licked his lips clean between bites, he had reached into the basket and pulled out a small box. Opening it and turning towards Lucas, he'd asked him to marry him, holding his breath as he waited for an answer. He still got a tingly feeling in the pit of his stomach as he remembered the shocked expression on Lucas' face melting into a bright smile, just before Lucas pounced him and showed his gratitude by making Joe melt into the blanket as he tried to fuck him through the roof.

Warren grinned. "See, that's why you proposed. You get all gooey and pathetic thinking about him. He does the same over you."

Joe tried to fake a glare but he was still feeling all sappy over the memory and from Warren's expression it wasn't very convincing. He looked at his watch again. One hour fifty-eight minutes.

"Why don't you go and take a shower and start getting ready?" Warren suggested. "I'm going back to my room to do the same and I'll be back when I'm done." He looked at Joe suspiciously. "And no drinking!" he added, wagging his finger at him.

Joe grinned, amused by his antics even despite his worries. "Just remember I can still ground you, brat," he grumbled.

Warren just grinned and slipped through the door connecting their rooms. Joe watched him go with a smile. The gang had thought he was insane when he took Warren in and even more so when he legally adopted him soon after, but he thought it was one of the smartest things he'd ever done. Sure the kid was still trouble, but no more than any of the rest of the gang. He didn't even want to think about where Warren would be now if he hadn't. Warren was his son now, regardless of who'd raised him for the first twelve years of his life, if you could call it raising. Joe wouldn't treat a dog the way Warren's parents had treated him.

He stripped off his clothes and dumped them in his bag, laying his suit out, his swimsuit that was. He smiled again. He'd never really expected to get married again but if he'd ever entertained the idea, he wouldn't have expected to be wearing a swimsuit for the occasion. They'd originally planned to fly to Hawaii because they couldn't get married in New Jersey. That wasn't the case now, but they'd decided to stick with their plans. Lucas and Gina had organised everything. She'd suggested something more traditional but Lucas said they weren't traditional about anything else, why should a wedding be any different? So not only were they getting married on a beach, they were all going to be wearing swimsuits. Everyone except the registrar would be anyway. Warren would be his best man and Deb would be Lucas'. He looked at his watch once more before taking it off and leaving it on the counter so he could shower. One hour fifty-one minutes.

This was ridiculous. He was going to be a nervous wreck by the time the ceremony started at this rate. Oh, who was he kidding? He was already a nervous wreck. He turned the water on and started washing his hair. He couldn't remember the last time he'd washed his own hair; Lucas normally did it for him. Lucas liked to take care of him in little ways and he liked to let him. Of course, he grumbled about it, but that was just for show really. Lucas and Warren knew that when they went out of their way to do something for him the grumbling was just to cover how touched he was. He was used to being the care taker in all his relationships and he loved the fact that his son and fiancé thought it was their job to take care of him as well.

After his hair was clean, he grabbed the soap and started lathering his body. He closed his eyes and imagined Lucas was in the shower with him. He pinched one of his nipples, making himself moan softly. Immediately his cock started taking notice in the proceedings. Warren and Gina had made him sleep apart from Lucas last night and they hadn't been together for nearly a whole day now, well if you didn't count the phone sex they'd had this morning when Lucas called to ask if he'd slept well.

If Lucas was there he'd reach between them and stroke his cock, maybe even suck it. Joe thrust his hips forward into his hand imagining Lucas wrapping his lips around his cock and sucking on it, slowly taking it into his throat and swallowing ... With a cry he came, the shower washing away the evidence as he tried to get his breathing back to normal. Hopefully, he would now be able to get through the entire ceremony without getting hard, because with the swimsuits they were wearing that could be embarrassing, but he doubted it. He figured he'd be fine right up until the minister said they could kiss; after that, anything could happen.

He turned the water off and grabbed a towel, drying himself hurriedly and then wrapping it around his hips so he could use the dryer on his hair. He looked at his watch again before finding the dryer. One hour eighteen minutes. There was still time for him to get dressed and make a run for it before the ceremony. He sighed; he knew he couldn't do that no matter how sick he was feeling. Lucas would be hurt and he never wanted to make Lucas miserable. He took his time drying his hair, hoping to waste enough time that he could go down to the beach and wait. He was nervous enough already, and the waiting was going to kill him. He shaved and cleaned his teeth and then changed into his swimsuit and sandals before letting himself look at his watch again. Fifty-two minutes.

Stretching out on the bed he turned the TV on and started channel hopping, eventually tossing the remote aside in disgust. All those channels and there was nothing on worth watching. Forty-six minutes left, he noted. This was ridiculous. Time must have slowed down; surely it had taken him longer than that. He flicked the TV on again and checked the time on CNN in case his watch had stopped. It hadn't.

There was a knock on the door and Warren breezed in. He was tossing a small box up in the air and catching it. Joe blinked. The ring. Oh God.

"Warren, if you drop that or lose it I will kill you," he growled.

Warren just grinned. "Who, me? Relax, it's practically the only thing I have to do all day. I think I can manage not to lose the ring. Anyway, Gina told me to remind you to put sunscreen on and to make you do me too; she says if you get burned and can't have fun on your honeymoon she'll call all the girls in my class and tell them I like them." He pouted. "I don't like Gina; she's mean."

Joe laughed. "OK, well in the interests of your social life we better do what she says." He pulled the lotion out of his bag and handed it to Warren. "Get my back and then I'll do yours."

Warren squeezed a generous amount of the lotion into his palm and then applied it vigorously to Joe's back, laughing when he flinched. It was cold against his overheated skin and Joe couldn't help jumping every time Warren added more. He was going to drown his son one of these days, he was getting far too much amusement out of Joe's nerves.

When Joe was well covered in the lotion, he made Warren turn around and returned the favour, actually warming it in his hands a little before rubbing it on. He was careful to make sure he didn't miss anywhere, even adding some to the tops of Warren's ears; the kid's complexion meant he could get a nasty burn if Joe wasn't thorough.

When they were both ready he looked at his watch again. Twenty-two minutes left. Time to head down to the beach. He felt sick. Rubbing his hands nervously against his thighs, he looked at Warren and was surprised when he was enveloped in a tight hug.

"Everything's going to be fine, dad," Warren promised. "Let's go."

Joe swallowed heavily and followed Warren down to the edge of the beach, handing his room key to AJ, who would be responsible for making sure all of his and Lucas' luggage went with them when they left for the honeymoon. He paced up and down the beach as they waited for the music to start and Gina to give the signal to him and Lucas so they could walk down the aisles and meet in front of the altar. Warren was smiling at him encouragingly or maybe he was just trying not to laugh, he couldn't be sure. He checked his watch every minute or so until Warren threatened to confiscate it if he didn't stop and then Gina waved at them. Oh God. This was it. He was getting married.


End file.
